Peony' tea-foam enamel vessel, Qing dynasty

A glazed ceramic bowl with a uniformly mottled-brown surface, known as a “foam tea” (茶沫). The shape is globular, with a wide mouth, without handles, and slightly domed in the middle. The decoration is in gilding, with an intricate design of peonies intertwined with scrolls and foliage, arranged in horizontal bands that run around the belly of the vessel. The upper part is topped with a border of ruyi clouds and the lower part with a pattern of stylized lotus petals. A six-character seal “大清乾隆年制” is inscribed on the base within a square box. Qing dynasty (1644-1912) or later.

Height: 10 cm; Diameter: 16 cm